Rites of passage
The manusa yadnya or life-cycle rites are designed to ensure a
person's spiritual and material well-being. From conception until
after death a person is believed to be in the company of the "four
companions" (kanda empat). After one's birth these are expressed
as personifications of the amniotic fluid, the blood, the vernix
caseosa and the afterbirth. The latter is buried by the entrance
of the sleeping house and covered with a river stone. The umbilical
cord is often kept in a little silver box hung around the neck.
The companions will protect if treated well; if not, they may
create problems.
Twelve days after birth the ceremonial cutting of the navel string
occurs. At this time the child is given a temporary "baby-sitter"
- a deity called Dewa Kumara. This deity is instructed by his
father, Siwa, to protect the baby until its first tooth appears.
A small shrine next to the child's bed is hung with flowers and
bananas as an offering for the protecting spirit.
Forty-two days after birth, a ceremony is held to cleanse the
mother, who is thought to be impure after birth. On this day also
the natural force of a "brother/sister" which has accompanied
the baby since birth departs, and the child is now considered
to be fully human. Another ceremony is held three months after
birth to consolidate the baby's body and soul. At this time, the
child's official name is announced and he or she may touch the
earth for the first time.
After 210 days, the baby's first "birthday" or otonan
is celebrated. The hair is cut for the first time and the mother
makes an offering in the village temple to announce that her child
has arrived in the village.
The next major ceremony occurs as the child reaches the age of
puberty. This is the famous "tooth-filing" ceremony
whose aim is to symbolically eradicate the animal or "wild"
nature in a person - held for girls on the occasion of her first
menstruation; for boys when his voice changes. During the ceremony,
both upper canine teeth are filed down slightly. A person should
now behave as an adult, able to control his or her emotions.
Full adulthood begins after marriage, and the person is then treated
as a full-fledged member of the community. If the child is the
eldest or youngest son, he will replace his father in carrying
out certain village duties. Completing the cycle and returning
the soul safely to the other world are the pitra yadnya or ceremonies
for the dead (see "Cremations"). After death, the soul
of the deceased joins the ancestors, and is worshipped with the
gods in special shrines within the house compound. One hopes to
regularly communicate with one's ancestors, and every Balinese
has a sense of well-being knowing he or she is protected by them.
Rites for gods and priests
Dewa yadnya ceremonies are performed to honor the divinities.
Such ceremonies are a communal responsibility, taking place during
temple anniversaries either once every 210 days of the wuku year,
or once in a lunar-solar year of 360 days. The gods or divine
ancestors are then invited to come down to earth and reside in
their temples. For at least three days they are feasted and regaled
with offerings, music, dance and hymns. Priests perform the rituals
to summon the gods; those who support the temple pay their homage.
Apart from these anniversaries, major temple festivals are held
on Galungan and Kuningan - two holy days according to the Balinese
calendar. Another important festival is Tumpek Uduh - held every
210 days when useful trees and garden plants are honored with
offerings. On this day no tree may be cut nor fruits taken. In
a similar way, rituals are performed for household and agricultural
tools on Tumpek Landep and for domestic animals on Tumpek Andang.
Ritual worship is supervised by specialists - the priests. Their
main task is to prepare holy water for the believers. People of
higher castes cannot receive holy water from priests belonging
to a lower caste. The highest and most distinguished priests are
the brahman pedanda, who can offer holy water to any person, because
they occupy the highest rung in the social hierarchy. Members
of the satriya dalem and wesya castes may use priests from their
own class, the resi, but they prefer a pedanda. The Pasek, Sengguhu,
Pande and Bali Aga groups all have their own priests as well,
but being so low in the hierarchy, they can only offer holy water
to members of their own group.
The so-called resi yadnya are rituals to ordain priests. To be
ordained as a pedanda, a brahman must study with a high priest
for many years. A ritual ordination or padiksan is then organized
for him by the family with the help of other villagers. During
the ritual, the candidate undergoes a symbolic death and cremation.
Thereafter, he is "reborn" as a pure man. After his
ordination, his guru continues to act as his advisor and it is
only after another year of study that he is able to perform rituals
on his own. Male priests are consecrated along with their wives.
This means that the wife may take over the priesthood after the
death of their husband.
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